~ Social War Against Industrial Expansion

Author Archives: bcblackout

We are pleased to announce the twelfth annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, located on unceded Coast Salish Territory in Victoria, British Columbia.
The Bookfair is for anarchists and non-anarchists, with participants from all over North America and beyond. Events include book and information tables, workshops, readings, films, presentations, and much more! Get involved! Please get in touch with proposals for workshops and tables by August 15st, 2017. Late proposals will be considered but may not be included promotional material. Continue reading →

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Graphic History Collective Poster Series Poster and introduction by Gord Hill The siege at Ts’Peten (Gustafsen Lake) occurred in Secwepemc territory (in the south-central interior of “British Columbia”) in the summer of 1995, after a white American rancher began harassing an elder and his family at a Secwepemc Sundance camp. Warriors responded to the elder’s […]

Celebrating arts, community and resurgence in Quw’utsun Territory (Cowichan Bay)

September 8th – 10th.

We are a volunteer collective of musicians, artists, and organizers who aspire to belong to vibrant communities working towards social justice, Indigenous resurgence, reconciliation, stewardship of local ecosystems, and community-driven alternatives to the status quo. We believe in the power of music and art with purpose, and in the importance of gathering in numbers to build our strength and amplify our voices.

Koksilah Music Festival takes place in the unceded territories of the Quw’utsun People at Tuwe’nu (Providence Farm), at the base of Pi’Paam’ (Mt. Tzouhalem) in what is commonly known as Cowichan Bay, or Tl’upalus in Hul’qumi’num.

The festival is organized in recognition and celebration of the sovereignty of Indigenous Nations throughout BC. While 2017 marks the Canada’s 150th year, it also marks more than 500 years of Indigenous resistance to colonial exploitation and assimilation in this region. Our intention is to highlight the perspectives of Indigenous musicians, artists, activists and knowledge keepers. We are partnered with Quw’utsun elders and traditional leaders to ensure that this gathering reflects proper protocols and is accessible to the local Indigenous community.

The festival is named after the Koksilah river, which drains into the Cowichan river not far from the festival grounds. The Koksilah’s deep pools, eddies, and waterfalls are where locals revitalize during the heat of summer. These same swim spots used to provide sanctuary to a healthy salmon run that returned each year to create a new generation of coho, steelhead, chinook, pink, and chum salmon. Weirs maintained by the Quw’utsun people once provided abundant Coho and Spring salmon for the smokehouses every fall. It is now rare to catch a glimpse of a Spring or Coho salmon headed upstream, and we have named this festival in recognition of the broad-based community support the Koksilah will require to return to its former strength, so it can again provide sustenance to the Quw’utsun community.

All festival proceeds will be donated to grassroots initiatives led by Indigenous people asserting sovereignty over their ancestral territories. Funds will be split between the Xwaaqw’um cultural resurgence project, Unist’ot’en Camp, and Lax U’u’la Camp (Lelu Island). These groups are working tirelessly to re-occupy and protect their traditional lands and waters, revitalize their cultural practices, and reconnect people with the land.

Questions about Part One to Seb Bonet (jsbonet@gmail.com; 250-477-9071)
Questions about Part Two to Chris Fretwell (socialcoast@gmail.com; 250-884-5573)

Kinder Morgan wants to start construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in September. For Kwantlen and Nlaka’Pamux Nations, Kinder Morgan’s plans represent the continuation of 150 years of colonial encroachment, which they continue to resist and resurge against.

We invite you to come and hear from keynote speaker Clarence Dick from the Lkwungen Nation, as well as Kachina Bige (Cree and Dene from Lutsel K’e) and Brandon Gabriel from Kwantlen Nation about the history of their territory (which stretches from New Westminster, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Mission, Langley, Glen Valley, and Fort Langley ), and their plans to begin construction of a Healing Lodge in the path of the expansion, among other elements of their planned and ongoing resistance.

We will also hear from Billie Pierre from Nlaka’Pamux. Billie lives in Merritt, and has been actively involved in the grass roots Indigenous movement since 1995, and will also speak to her people’s long struggle against colonialism, which she has been directly involved in since the mid-90’s, and share her wisdom from the grassroots about impacts the Trans Mountain expansion project has already had, and the ways her people are resisting it.

There will also be a stand-up performance from Jeff Corntassel, who is Tsalagi (Cherokee), and hip-hop by Savage Fam, from Klallam.

This event is a fundraiser for grassroots resistance to Kinder Morgan; its details are still being finalized. We will be requesting donations on a sliding scale from $0-$15 at the door to support our panelists.

BACKGROUND:

If you can’t make this event, but would like to hear video recordings from these speakers, try these links:

Details for this event are still being finalized. It is being coordinated by some of the people who participate in an informal, relationship-based network called OUST Victoria. Please contact Seb Bonet (jsbonet@gmail.com, 250-853-3926) if you have questions or concerns about who is organizing this event, or how it has been put together. We would also like to thank Social Justice Studies at UVic for donating to make this event happen.

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Outside the tent-turned-holding cell along the sidewalk by Parliament Hill’s East Block Jocelyn Iahtail and Elder Sophie Gunner-Sackabuskum wanted to know what happened to someone named “Crow” who they said was arrested along with nine others for trying to carry teepee poles onto the Hill grounds without a proper permit.

The RCMP officer who oversaw the arrests, whose last name was Lemoyne according to his ID patch, said he didn’t know of anyone named “Crow.” Lemoyne said only nine people were arrested Wednesday evening for “obstruction” because they needed proper permits to set up the teepee.

“They were not allowed to come in with the teepee or they would be arrested,” said officer Lemoyne. “It is against the rules of the Hill, you cannot have tents. You usually need permits to go here. You guys are welcome to come, but no teepee.”

Ihatail said the RCMP had no right to keep the teepee off Parliament Hill. She said it was to be used for a fasting ceremony.

“We are the ceremonial people. I have a right to be here…I didn’t go invade Europe,” she said.